In which important historal and mythological figures are turned into caricatures

Imagine a 5v5 multiplayer battle arena game where players take on the roles of Little Red Riding Hood, Baron Münchhausen or even Jack the Ripper. That's the game that Crytek's Sofia studio is working on, announced today as Arena of Fate. The online action title is part of what Crytek calls their "games-as-a-service" expansion, which likely implies free-to-play. Beta is planned to start this summer, which gamers can register for right now.

While exactly what sort of battle arena type experience Arena of Fate will deliver still isn't clear, whether it be a third-person style MOBA or a more general goal-less open arena environment, Crytek really wants the theme to stand front and center. Crytek Black Sea's Managing director and Game Director for Arena of FateVesselinHandjiev provides the following prepared statement:

"Imagine Joan of Arc and Robin Hood cooperating to hunt down Little Red Riding Hood – Wouldn’t that be terrific? But besides the game's iconic heroes, which everyone in the team really loves, we are also challenging ourselves to carefully craft a streamlined player experience that allows for both greater accessibility, and rich, deep, action-packed gameplay. We are very excited to meet the first wave of players in the arena this summer, and will be listening carefully to the feedback we receive and making the community's contribution a key part of our efforts to perfect the fun."

As Vesselin says, it's easy to be interested in the characters Arena of Fate will feature, especially when that's all that's been revealed of the game. Nevertheless, if characters are what we're being shown, then characters are what we'll focus on.

Here's a list of the currently announced or teased characters for Arena of Fate:

Frankenstein

Jack the Ripper

Baron Münchhausen

Little Red Riding Hood

Joan of Arc

Tesla

Robin Hood

Fenrir

Expect more information on Arena of Fate at E3, where the game will be playable for attendees. Until then, all that's been provided is a short teaser trailer in terms of shared media. No screenshots! Ah, but what does the game even look like?